Respect is learned by respecting | Natalia Gonsález | TEDxPitic
Natalia González shares her experience enduring bullying and abuse to advocate for children's rights. She argues that surviving personal trauma allows one to find purpose, transforming pain into a catalyst for helping others find hope. Her resilience is evidenced by her subsequent advocacy work, culminating in the National Youth Award presented by President Enrique Peña Nieto.
## Speakers & Context
- Natalia González (speaker).
- Context: Sharing personal story of abuse and advocacy work at an event involving elementary and middle school children.
## Theses & Positions
- Every person feels special at some point, and individuals can be reborn "in a positive way" to help others.
- Suffering through bullying and abuse can be transformed into a catalyst for change and advocacy.
- The key to survival and change is realizing that one is not alone and that there is an opportunity to help others.
- Pain and fear are inherent parts of life, but they are things people must let go of by seeing beyond them.
- Speaking out and helping others is a way to ensure one's life is not lived in vain.
## Examples & Cases
- **Bullying in High School:** Experienced being hit, insulted, used, abused, excluded, and labeled as "the fat one, I was the ugly one, I was the nerd."
- **Literature Class Incident:** Corrected a teacher regarding Gabriel García Márquez, resulting in public humiliation and being told, *"You're nothing. You can't do anything to get me fired because I'm grown up and you're small."*
- **Physical Abuse:** Suffered abuse that caused her arm to turn purple, describing it as *"like when meat rots and turns purple, yellow, and green."*
- **Suicide Attempts:** Attempted suicide three times, with the final opportunity presenting the means, concluding that life is beautiful because of potential happy days and opportunities.
- **Advocacy Work:** Became a child advocate for children's rights at the municipal and state levels.
- **Mentoring:** Giving talks to elementary and middle school children, where many approached her to share silent pain.
## Named Entities
- **Gabriel García Márquez:** Mexican writer, born in Colombia.
- **Enrique Peña Nieto:** President who presented the National Youth Award.
## Numbers & Data
- Duration of bullying: **Three years**.
- Number of times she cried at home: **Every day** (after incidents).
- Number of times she got physically hit: **Three times** (mentioned in the context of the incident).
- Number of suicide attempts: **Three times**.
- Age started working for the newspaper: **12**.
- Year of State Youth Award: **2002**.
## Examples & Cases
- **The Initial Incident:** Correcting the teacher in class about Gabriel García Márquez's residency/death status.
- **Physical Harm Visualization:** Arm turning purple, yellow, and green due to being hit by a friend.
- **The Shift in Perspective (Suicide Attempt):** Visualizing the negative events alongside remembering her parents' smiles, her brother's smile, the music, food, desserts, and the beach.
- **Professional Recognition:** Winning the Municipal Youth Music Award and the National Youth Award.
## Tools, Tech & Products
- None mentioned.
## References Cited
- **Gabriel García Márquez:** Writer whose status she corrected.
## Trade-offs & Alternatives
- **Action vs. Silence:** Observing other children who remained silent, following bullies to be accepted rather than speaking up for themselves.
- **Physical Confrontation vs. Resilience:** Choosing not to "talk back, [or] hit them," but maintaining internal strength ("I was strong. I held on").
## Counterarguments & Caveats
- **The Teacher's Challenge:** The teacher's attempt to intimidate her by claiming she was "nothing."
- **Physical Evidence of Abuse:** The purple discoloration of her arm serves as tangible proof she endured abuse.
## Methodology
- **Narrative Testimony:** Recounting personal experiences of abuse, intervention, and subsequent activism.
- **Art of Correction:** Using factual knowledge (García Márquez's birthplace) to challenge authority figures.
## Conclusions & Recommendations
- Do not lose humanity with people; it is crucial to keep children's pain and voices heard.
- Continue advocating because helping children realize hope prevents lives from being lived in vain.
## Implications & Consequences
- Surviving and processing trauma can be transformed into a powerful, positive vocation (advocacy).
- The narrative establishes a continuous cycle of hope: personal survival leads to public service.
## Verbatim Moments
- *"I feel somewhat special, and I think everyone must feel special at some point."*
- *"to help people, children who scream without anyone hearing them."*
- *"Gabriel García Márquez is a writer who lives in Mexico, but he was born in Colombia and he hadn't passed away yet."*
- *"I'm not afraid of you. You're nothing. You can't do anything to get me fired because I'm grown up and you're small."*
- *"they are all bones if we take away our skin and organs; we are all bones."*
- *"I really could I realized that life is very beautiful, that yes, there are painful and difficult days, but they are worth living because there are more happy days full of opportunities for everyone."*
- *"I'm Natalia, and this is just the beginning."*